Vaccine Information Statements (VISs) are produced by the CDC and help vaccine providers inform patients about the benefits and risks of the vaccines they are getting.
In fact, under the National Vaccine Childhood Injury Act, vaccine providers are required to give out a VIS before giving a covered vaccine, including those for:
- Diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis containing vaccines (DTaP, DT, Td, and Tdap)
- Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib)
- Hepatitis A
- Hepatitis B
- Human Papillomavirus (HPV)
- Influenza (both Inactivated and Live, Intranasal vaccines)
- MMR
- Meningococcal disease
- Pneumococcal Conjugate (PCV13)
- Polio
- Rotavirus
- Varicella
Unlike the package insert for a vaccine, “VISs are based on the ACIP’s recommendations, which occasionally differ from those made by the manufacturer. These differences may involve adverse events. Package inserts generally tend to include all adverse events that were temporally associated with a vaccine during clinical trials, whereas ACIP tends to recognize only those believed to be causally linked to the vaccine.” That makes the VIS a better tool to use when doing your research on a vaccine.